Portable scrubbing buckets



Dec. 13, 1955 J, wlLKEN PORTABLE SCRUBBING BUCKETS Filed March 6, 1953//W/V7WR JOHN WILKEN United States Patent PORTABLE SCRUBBING BUCKETSJohn Wilken, East St. Louis, Iil.

Application March 6, 1953, Serial No. 340,846

3 Claims. (Cl. 219-48) This invention relates in general to certain newand useful improvements in portable scrubbing buckets.

Incommercial scrub-work of the type encountered in hotels, hotellobbies, restaurants, public rest rooms, the halls of ofiice buildingsand commercial establishments, it is essential to use water in order toobtain the optimum cleansing and sanitizing results. Hot water, forinstance, makes it possible to obtain maximum cleaning power from thedetergents and soap-like materials ordinarily used in the water.Furthermore, the solvent and suspension power of hot water is muchgreater and, therefore, the dirt and grime which is rinsed out of themop will remain suspended much more effectively in the hot water than itwill in cold water. Consequently, the water-soap solution retains itscleaning power much more efiectively as long as the temperature ismaintained at a fairly high level. atively large areas in commercialscrub-work, it is very diflicult and time-wasting to continuously changethe scrub-water as it cools off. Furthermore, the continuous squeezingof the mop, as it is rinsed in the water, brings a great quantity of thewater into contact with air and results in heat losses by radiation andevaporation.

It is the primary object of the present invention, therefore, to providea scrubbing bucket which is readily portable and is automatically heatedso that the scrubwater is always kept at optimum temperature.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a portablescrubbing bucket which is rugged and durable in construction and may beeasily pushed from place to place while maintaining the scrub-water at arelatively uniform temperature.

It is an additional object of the present invention to provide aportable scrubbing bucket of the type stated which will not readilybecome damaged or electrically short circuited through the agency ofscrubbing water which may accidentally splash against its componentelements.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a portablescrubbing bucket which will not over-heat or burn the areas of the floorimmediately subjacent to it if it is permitted to stand in one place fora protracted period of time.

With the above and other objects in view, my invention resides in thenovel features of form, construction, arrangement, and combination ofparts presently described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawing- Figure 1 is a side elevational view, partlybroken away and in section, of a portable scrubbing bucket constructedin accordance with and embodying the present invention;

Figure 2 is a top plan view, partly broken away and in section, of theportable scrubbing bucket; and

Figure 3 is a schematic wiring diagram illustrating the electricalconnection forming a part of the portable scrubbing bucket.

Referring now in more detail and by reference characters to the drawing,which illustrates a preferred em- Since it is necessary to cover rel-"ice bodiment of the present invention, A designates a portablescrubbing bucket comprising a base or carriage 1, which is in the formpreferably of a rectangular box-like frame 2, provided integrally aroundits upper peripheral margin with a rectangular plate 3, which extendsangularly upwardly and inwardly from its four edges in the provision ofgenerally sloping areas S S S S terminating in a centrally locatedrectangular aperture 4 for receiving a horizontal electrically heatedhot plate 5, provided upon its under face with a conventional resistancetype electrical heating element 6 disposed entirely within and dependingthrough the aperture 4 into the hollow interior of the carriage 1. Theexposed portion of the hot plate 5 extends marginally outwardly for ashort distance around the aperture 4 into overlying engagement upon thesloping areas S S S S of the plate 3, and has an upwardly presented flatface for supporting engagement against the under face of a rectilinearscrub bucket 7 formed of galvanized sheet metal or any other suitablematerial and conventionally provided at its upper rim with opposedupstanding ears 8 for receiving a handle or bail 9. As will be noted byreference to Figure 1, the area of the bottom of the bucket 7 issubstantially greater than the area of the hot plate 5 and the hot plate5, furthermore, is of substantial vertical thickness so that the bucket7, in effect, overhangs the hot plate 5 around its entire periphery andis supported thereby in upwardly spaced relation around its overhangingportion from the sloping areas S S S S The carriage 1 is provided in itsfour corners with four swivelly mounted casters 10 and a closure plate11 removably held thereacross by means of attachment screws 12, whichare threaded into bosses 13 formed integrally upon the interior lateralfaces of the frame 2. Welded or otherwise rigidly mounted upon one ofthe lateral faces of the frame 2 is an open faced housing 14 containinga conventional three-pole switch 15. Also mounted rigidly upon onelateral face of the frame 2 is a box-like housing 16 containing a.conventional electrical contact receptacle (not specifically shown),which is suitably connected to a conventional electric cord 17 adaptedfor plug-in connection to any convenient electrical outlet or othersource of electrical power. The electrical cord 17 is connectedinternally within the frame 2 to the switch 15 and thence to the heatingelement 6, substantially in the manner schematically shown in Figure 3.Thus, it will be seen that the switch 15 may be turned to 01$ positionor to any one of three different heating positions to afford a selectionof temperature levels, depending upon the needs and requirements of theuser. In one position, a low wattage portion of the heating element isconnected directly across the line and in another posi tion, a highwattage portion of the heating element is connected directly across theline, while, in the third position, both low and high wattage portionsare connected in series across the line.

Along one of its transverse margins, the frame 2 is provided with anoutwardly projecting bifurcated lug 18 for swingably receiving the lowerend of a draw bar 19 provided at its upper end with an integrally formedhandle 20 by which it may be pulled from place to place as required.

Riveted or otherwise rigidly secured to the opposite outwardly presentedfaces of the longitudinal portions of the frame 2 is an upstandingstationary roller yoke 21 provided at its upper end with a rotatingroller 22 and adapted for swingably supporting a rockable roller yoke 23extending outwardly around the forward vertical face of the bucket 7 andbeing provided with a step pedal 24. At its upper end, the rockable yoke23 is provided with a rotatable roller 25 having a shaft 26 whichextends outwardly at one end beyond the rockable yoke 23 and, on

such projecting end, is rigidly provided with a radially extending arm27 having a perpendicularly outwardly extending handle 28. The rockableyoke 23 is normally biased upwardly and toward the stationary yoke 21 bymeans of a tension spring 29 secured at its opposite ends respectivelyto, and extending between, the stationary yoke 21 and the rockable yoke23. When it is desired to wring out a mop which has been rinsed in thebucket 7, the mop is allowed to dangle between the rollers 22, 25, andthe pedal 24 is pressed downwardly with the foot, swinging the roller 25toward the roller 22 to the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 1,thereby applying substantial pressure to the mop. The handle 28 and itsassociated arm 27 are then rotated in the proper direction so that themop will be wrung out as it is pulled upwardly between the rollers 22,25, thereby effectively wringing the mop much more completely than isotherwise done and preventing damage to the mop by the longitudinal pullusually exerted in dragging it upwardly between rollers of conventionalwringers.

Water from the bucket 7 which will accidentally splash upon the carriage1 will normally drain downwardly along the outwardly sloping areas S S SS of the top wall 3 and will be thus directed away from the hot plate 5.As a result of inclination or slope of the areas S S S S and the heatgenerated in the space directly around the peripheral margin of the hotplate 5, as a result of the overhanging portions of the bucket 7, wateris effectively prevented from working upwardly and inwardly under thehot plate 5 to the heating element 6 to produce short circuiting,corrosion, and other damage. It will also be noted that the heatingelement 6 is housed within the hollow space formed by the frame 2 andthe closure plate 1.1, thereby forming an athermanous space whichprevents a substantial amount of the heat generated by the heatingelement 6 from passing downwardly toward the floor, thereby protectingthe floor from overheating or burning if, for any reason, the carriage 1is permitted to stand in one spot for any appreciable period of time asmay happen in the course of ordinary commercial scrubbing operations.

It should be understood that changes and modifications in the form,construction, arrangement, and combination of the several parts of theportable scrubbing bucket may be made and substituted for those hereinshown and described without departing from the nature and principle ofmy invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

1. A portable scrubbing bucket comprising a bucket removably mounted ina movable carriage having a top wall provided with a central aperture,said top wall sloping downwardly and outwardly on all sides from theaperture, and a fiat plate mounted in the aperture and being equippedwith an electrical heating element, said plate being of substantialthickness so that its top face lies in a plane spaced upwardly from thecarriage top wall.

2. A portable scrubbing bucket comprising, in combination, a carriagecomprising a hollow box-like frame mounted upon casters for convenientportability and transference from place to place and having an aperturecovered with a flat plate, a bucket removably mounted on the plate,electric heating means disposed within the box-like frame, and a closuremember mounted on the underside of the carriage beneath the aperture indownwardly spaced relation to the underside of the heating element toprovide an athermanous air-space therebetween.

3. A portable scrubbing bucket comprising a bucket removably mounted ona movable carriage including 2. rectangular frame having a top wallprovided with a central aperture and sloping downwardly and outwardly onall sides from the aperture to the outer peripheral margin of the frameso that the peripheral margins of the aperture lie in a planesubstantially above the plane of the outer peripheral margin of theframe, a flat plate covering said aperture and extending outwardly onall sides around the peripheral margins of the aperture, said platebeing of substantial thickness so as to support the bottom of the bucketin upwardly spaced relation to the sloping portions of the top wall,electric heating means mounted upon the underside of the plane withinthe confines of the aperture, a closure member mounted on the undersideof the frame in inwardly spaced relation to the underside of the heatingelement to provide an athermanous airspace therebetween, and castersmounted on the underside of the frame for supporting the entirestructure in upwardly spaced relation upon a floor.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,117,419 Hamrick et al. May 17, 1938 2,167,940 Erickson Aug. 1, 19392,392,208 Wilken Ian. 1, 1946 2,426,615 Iokinen Sept. 2, 1947

